Whirlpool Cuts Earnings Outlook After Consumer Demand Drops
Whirlpool Corp. reported they are reducing their forecast for the rest of year due to consumer demand dropping and is lower than they expected sales and profitability for Q3, 2022.
High inflation affected the third-quarter profitability and led to a decline in consumption. Since late 2020, Whirlpool has hiked prices almost every quarter to cover rising expenses. In June and July of this year, there saw a dramatic decline in consumer mood in the US and other markets.
The company reported their priority is to take aggressive steps to manage costs because they saw a drastic decreased throughout the third quarter of 2022, and feel this will continue to trend through the end of year. They will also be reducing manufacturing by 35% to help ease the weak demand.
“In particular in the US, but also in other markets, we saw consumer sentiment dropping off massively in June, July,” Chief Executive Officer Marc Bitzer said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Consumer usage has increased as households have spent more time at home since the Covid-19 pandemic began, therefore the company, which owns Maytag, KitchenAid and Insinkerator, is still betting that American consumers will need to replace their appliances soon.
